Tomra Japan Starts up New Recycling Collection System

Tomra Japan Co. Ltd., a joint subsidiary of Japan’s Sumitomo Corp. and Tomra Systems ASA of Norway, has begun a new recycling center system in Japan for collecting and recycling PET plastic bottles and recovered fiber. The system has been installed at the several supermarkets in Tokyo, including Food One’ Morino store.

The recycling center is designed to award points for the recovered fiber and PET plastic brought to Tomra Japan Co. Ltd. The accumulated points are stored on a “smart card” and can be used when shopping at the Morino store.

A release from Tomra Japan notes that Food One operator Sanwa also is considering installing Tomra's recycling center system at other outlets, most of which are located in Tokyo and Kanagawa, Japan.

Tomra Japan Co. says that the recycling system is the first of its kind in Japan to collect both recovered paper and PET bottles, while at the same time allowing users to accumulate points on their smart cards.

"We are hoping that this system will be adopted widely, especially by municipalities across the nation," says Daisuke Fujii, executive vice president of Tomra Japan.